NYT Calls Out Five Leading-Edge Towable RVs

Editor’s Note: The following is an article that appeared in the New York Times, profiling five towable RVs that stand out in the marketplace. Included in the list was the EverGreen RV Element, Jayco Seismic, Airstream International Sterling, Taxa Cricket and Most Futuria Sports + Spa. To read the entire article click here.

For a long time, travel trailers came in two basic varieties: the big white shoebox or the Chiclet-shape pop-up; Airstream’s iconic aluminum bubble was a notable exception.

The shoebox still makes a large footprint in the travel-trailer market, but as overall sales have grown since 2005, to 165,100 conventional and pop-up trailers last year, some manufacturers have found success with more adventurous designs.

Yet finding the market’s sweet spot is trickier than backing into a campsite. A Dutch start-up, Your Suite In Nature, attracted attention in 2010 with a pop-up that opened into a canvas approximation of the Sydney Opera House.

The Opera was stunning and well appointed, but at 33,000 euros (more than $40,000) it was quadruple the average price of a pop-up. Manufacturing ceased in March after only nine Operas were produced. In an e-mail, the company’s founder, Rob Vos, cited high production costs as well as low sales.

Yet the passing of the Opera hasn’t prevented other trailer companies from trying to break out of the box. Here are five other head-turning trailers:

EVERGREEN ELEMENT: A radically raked front end helps to make this trailer, from EverGreen Recreational Vehicles of Middlebury, Ind., a bit more aerodynamic than most.

Inside, the Element looks like a crew compartment on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”: there is a lot of blond wood, rounded edges and flush-set appliances.

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $40,000, about twice the price of the average conventional trailer. But EverGreen’s chairman, Kelly Rose, said the price reflected the use of composite materials, rather than wood and particleboard. “Composite won’t mildew or rot,” Rose said. “It just won’t break down, and that keeps the Element’s resale value high.”